This 5 Bean Salad is a delicious twist on a classic! It combines five different types of beans with bell peppers, pimentos, and red onion in a delicious side dish that’s perfect for picnics or potlucks. Best of all, it comes together in just 10 minutes!
5 Bean Salad. It’s an old-fashioned recipe that, if you ask me, is completely underrated! Because this salad is delicious with EVERYTHING. From Grilled Steak to Blackened Chicken to Italian Sliders, it’s one of those salads that always fits in.
Of course, if you’re familiar with the classic recipe, you’ll notice that this one looks a little different. Because I took elements of my favorite Cowboy Caviar and made my own version of the classic.
Loaded with black beans, pinto beans, chickpeas, cannellini beans, and kidney beans… and lightened up with fresh veggies and a deliciously sweet vinaigrette… it’s everything I want in a 5 Bean Salad. And I’d venture to guess it’s everything YOU want in one, too!
what you’ll need for this recipe
Beans – I used a combination of black beans, pinto beans, garbanzo beans (aka chickpeas), cannellini beans, and kidney beans.
Vegetables – I also included some chopped veggies to keep this salad light and fresh. I used diced green bell pepper, celery, red onion, and jarred pimentos.
Dressing – For the dressing, I combined granulated sugar, apple cider vinegar, light olive oil, water, salt & pepper. Add a dash of cayenne pepper for a spicy twist!
how to make this 5 Bean Salad recipe
Prep ingredients. Drain and rinse the beans; chop the veggies to desired size.
Combine. In a large bowl, combine the drained beans, chopped bell pepper, celery, onion, and pimentos.
Make the dressing. In a medium saucepan, whisk together remaining ingredients. Bring to a boil; remove from heat and pour over bean mixture. Toss gently.
Refrigerate. Cover and keep in the refrigerator until ready to serve. This will help the flavors develop.
Recipe Variations
- Use any type of canned beans, including wax beans, canned green beans, navy beans, or lima beans
- Substitute yellow onion for the red onion
- Add cucumber, avocado, tomato, jalapeño, or any of your favorite veggies
- Add crumbled feta
- Add chopped chicken, salmon, or tuna for extra protein
- Add fresh minced dill or cilantro
storage tips
Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to one week. This is one dish that actually gets better with time!
More Recipes to Try
If you like this Five Bean Salad, you might also like these other bean recipes!
The Best 5-Bean Salad
Ingredients
- 1 can black beans drained
- 1 can pinto beans drained
- 1 can garbanzo beans drained
- 1 can cannellini beans drained
- 1 can dark red kidney beans drained
- 1 green pepper diced
- 1 cup celery diced
- 1 cup red onion diced
- 1 4 oz jar pimentos drained
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil
- 3/4 cup cider vinegar
- 1 Tablespoon water
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teapsoon pepper
Instructions
- Drain and rinse beans.
- Combine drained beans, pepper, celery, onion, and pimentos in a large bowl.
- In a saucepan, combine remaining ingredients.
- Bring to a boil; remove from heat and pour over bean mixture.
- Chill until ready to serve.
Katerina @ diethood .com says
Wow!! I am in love with this bean salad! It looks amaaazing!! 🙂
Maryanne | the little epicurean says
I LOVE family vacations, but they’re so stressful to plan. The older I get, the busier everyone’s schedules get! I’m totally craving this 5 bean salad. The photos are so crisp, I just want to dig into the screen 🙂
Sarah says
I have made this bean salad recipe at least 20 times over the past 5 years. It is a go-to. Every time I make it, someone asks for the recipe. Thank you for sharing it with us!
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
I’ve always been a fan of bean salad, this 5-bean version looks awesome!
Jess says
Looks refreshing and bean-y! I love new salads! We are just heading home from Cape Cod, it was a great family vacation and honestly, I cannot imagine vacationing with all our family. You’re a brave woman! It sounds like a fun group though!
Michelle | A Latte Food says
I bet those vacations make the best memories! They sound like so much fun! And this bean salad totally looks like the best!
Abeer says
Seriously, all those colors make this the best bean salad I have ever seen! 🙂
Michelle Goth says
What a beautiful salad! You make beans look good! 🙂
Janie says
What is Truvia … is that a sugar substitute? If so, what would be the equivalent using regular sugar?
Brynne says
According to the Truvia website, you use 1/2 the amount of Truvia baking blend that you would use regular sugar, so 1c sugar.
Carolyn says
This is pretty tasty. Next time I make it, I will cut the sugar in half.
Brittany says
What size cans of beans did you use and how many will this feed total? Thanks!
Jullie says
Delicious! Great recipe…I used Rice vinegar as I cannot use Cider vinegar….so good!
Roxanne says
What are the nutrition facts on this recipe?
Kpd says
Can I use splend rather than truvia? Will the amounts be the same!
Noelle says
I have been using this recipe for years and always get asked to share the recipe! It’s such a great crowd-pleasing salad, great for potlucks and cook outs!
Cathy Trochelman says
So happy to hear it! Thank you!
Michelle says
We always vacation together, we have 20!! We always rent a Big roomy place, we have 9 grandkids!! From 2 to 14!! I will be trying this!!
Sandi says
The vegetable oil congealed in 5 bean salad!! What do I do to avoid that
Cathy Trochelman says
Was it when the salad was cold? Usually bringing it back to room temperature will take care of the oil solidifying.
Sandi says
The vegetable oil congealed in 5 bean salad!! What do I do to avoid that?
Cathy Trochelman says
Just bring it back to room temperature.
Sylvia Johnston says
I made this for a large group for a potluck. To extend it I boiled some cute pasta and drained and added to this bean salad. I let it sit overnite and it was a huge hit at the event. The pasta had soaked up th33e vinegar and oil dressing and it was very tasty. I think from one recipe I got 2 pans of salad.